CFA Day Recap and a New Local Flower Pickup Location!

Important Dates:

August 1, 2025: Next subscriber giveaway drawing.

July 19, 2025: Pre-order a $10.00 wrapped bouquet for pick up at LilJumbo Coffee Company in Old Washington! Get your orders in to Perriee and I by Friday morning for Saturday pickup! Their hours are 9-2 on Saturdays. We have Venmo and Square unless we see you ahead of time to collect cash (you could order for multiple weeks at once, as we intend on delivering as long as we have flowers growing). It is a great way to support two businesses at once. We will be exploring other local drop off spots, so let us know if you have any others in mind. Let’s get these flowers everywhere!

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Our CFA Day has come and gone but I hope the memory of it all will live on forever. The days leading up to the event were full of preparations fueled by the support of our community. This week alone we had multiple friends here helping finalize our preparations for the big day. I had help getting the flower bar set up, we got the big tree cut up that fell in the pollinator patch, and the flower studio got freshened up.

On event day, we had representatives from so many amazing organizations including Community Farm Alliance, KCARD, Kentucky State University, Fleming County Extension, NRCS, American Farmland Trust and THE Kentucky Black Farmers Association. The food was delicious and prepared by a queer, black owned business, Alfalfas, who brought the most delicious tea blends from Ballew Estates. It was not merely the names of the groups that made it work, but the people who were here on behalf of them that really made us feel so supported. Every single person.

We were even compensated to be able to offer a beautiful flower bar for participants to have the opportunity to create their own bouquets to take home with them. It was such a gift to be able to share our blooms with everyone as a final parting gift after a wonderful day. I love watching what flowers people are drawn to when given the choice! We can’t wait for the next flower bar day. Let us when you need to have one. The backdrop of the Warehouse was so charming.

I don’t even know how to convey the vibe of the day to do it enough justice. It was so beautiful to share space with folks from so many different backgrounds here at our place. We opened with an activity led by Nicole, with American Farmland Trust, who had us gather in a circle and share a little of what we hoped to get out of the day. We met so many new faces that I wish I could have sat down with to talk to and get to know more about and welcomed back friends that have been here before. There were even friends that were here for the first time!

Kati from KCARD’s presentation about agrotourism was inspiring, leaving us with so many ideas of how to get more people to come here to learn about how we farm. Our favorite entomologist, Briana Bazile even attended as a guest, and Perriee and I were for sure fangirling once we realized she was here. We first met her at the Black Farmer Conference in February where we soaked up her talk about the importance of biodiversity in farming and life in general. Hopefully we can schedule a bug day at the farm and have her back to share her knowledge with you all.

At the end of the day, we all had the chance to share how we were feeling and my heart was bursting as folks used words like, “inspired” and “comfortable”, adjectives that we strive to make space for here on this land that we care for. It really felt like people left with their cups a bit fuller than when they arrived, which right now is so needed when it feels like we are being emotionally drained at every turn. I know I was rejuvenated.

It still amazes me how the twists and turns of life take us towards opportunities like this. It was through the Kentucky Farm Launch class at the University of Kentucky that we were connected with the person who approached us for the event. One of our other classmates helped us get set up to get our massive tree cut up, and someone entirely different came to assist us with our drip irrigation installation. Between all of the little communities we have been interacting with this year (neighborhood, markets, brewery, garden group, farm class, etc.), I cannot remember another time in life when I have felt so supported. I know it is hard sometimes to feel plugged into life, but if you have an interest or a passion about something, please take those steps to get out of your bubble if you are able, to connect with others who share that fire. Promise it will fill your cup, because if it doesn’t, you just move along to find the one that does.

In other news we have decided to start selling lamb’s quarters. They grow abundantly here and are so delicious. If you love spinach you can enjoy a more nutritious version all summer long for $5.00/half pound, trimmed. If you are a local restaurant who is interested in trying them out, please reach out as we will have wholesale options as well. I suspect someone reading this is thinking, “I can go outside and get those right now for free”. If this is you, please stop what you are doing and grab your snips and get some. Otherwise, order them from us and we will do that work for you.

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